MANY businesses write a business plan only when they need to secure additional finance from banks and investors.
However, a business plan is far more than just a document to assist in raising finance; it is an essential road map for business success.
MANY businesses write a business plan only when they need to secure additional finance from banks and investors.
However, a business plan is far more than just a document to assist in raising finance; it is an essential road map for business success. It generally projects three to five years ahead and outlines the route a company intends to take to grow revenues and achieve its goals and objectives.
We find that many business owners do have plans but just not written down in a formal plan or are often just thoughts kept in their own heads.
Putting your thoughts down on paper enables you to come up with a comprehensive strategy on how you will deal with various scenarios.
Your business plan will give you a place to list specific goals and objectives for your business, helping you to set out clearly how you plan to meet these goals and on what sort of timescale, and forcing you to commit to that course of action. Writing down the plan creates structure and order around the planning process and enables the plan to be shared with other key stakeholders, those which will help delivery its goals and objectives.
In fact, the very process you go through when writing a business plan is extremely valuable as it forces you to take a holistic view of your company and the sector context.
Your business plan should cover all aspects of your business including details of your product and your Unique Selling Point, details of your target markets and your marketing plan, an overview of your competitors and your likely market share, details of the key people and skill sets required, cash flow forecast and financial requirements, operational processes and systems and also exit strategy. And this is by no means an exhaustive list!
Involve your key management team in the process as you will need their buy-in to implement your plan. Then you can think about writing it down, and start planning to achieve something.
It’s a fact that people who plan will, more often than not, be more successful than those who don’t, because of the level of discipline they end up introducing and applying to their working practices.
For more information on this article or for assistance in writing a business plan please contact Stephen Watts on 01536 483513 or email